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  This week's question is submitted by Stephanie!

How important is a book's cover to your overall impression of it?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

I try not to judge my final thoughts on the cover alone, but whether or not I liked plot, the characters and if the book was well written.

Tried & True
Wild At Heart, Book One
by Mary Connealy
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pub. Date: September 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0764211782
Pages: 320
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/AS8Js
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/mconnealy

Review:

Now available to own on paperback and as an eBook is book one in the Wild At Heart series, titled Tried & True. The book is written by one my favorite authors, Mary Connealy. At first glance at the cover, I actually thought the book would have a contemporary setting, but instead it has a post-Civil War setting.

Tried and True centers on Kylie Wilde, a civilized young woman, who just happened to have served in the Civil War as a solider. Kylie and her two older sisters exchanged their skirts for trousers and pretended to be "boys" during the war. While her sisters continue the charade, so they can keep the special exemptions for serving in the war, Kylie has grown out her hair and has started wearing dresses again.

It doesn’t take Kylie long to get the attention of the local land agent, Aaron Masterson, who becomes instantly fascinated with her. As she gets closer to him, she reveals her deepest secret of serving in the Civil War. Being a civilized citizen, Aaron has the responsibility to inform the government of Kylie and her sister's fraud, but he doesn't want to risk the chance of losing her.

Christmas at Rose Hill Farm
An Amish Love Story
by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0800721930
Pages: 240
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/ARPVX
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/sfisher

Review:

I know that the holidays are getting closer when Christmas themed books start showing up in bookstores. Suzanne Woods Fisher is one of the most popular Christian authors and she has crafted a holiday tale, titled Christmas at Rose Hill Farm. Of course one the first things I noticed about the book is that there is a character named Billy, which coincidentally my name is also Billy!

Set in 1977, Christmas at Rose Hill Farm centers on Billy Lapp, an ex-Amish from Stoney Ridge that is working as a rose rustler for Penn State. He had no intentions of ever returning home, but life throws you unexpected situations and Billy finds himself returning to Stoney Ridge to investigate the origins of a "lost" rose that is found in the greenhouse at Rose Hill Farm.

When Billy originally left Stoney Ridge four years ago, he also left behind his love Bess Riehl. Since then, Bess has moved on with her life by getting engaged to Billy's cousin, Amos, though it did take three proposals for her to finally say "yes" to marriage. Bess and Amos are planning a quite Christmas Wedding, well that is until Billy made his return and old feelings start to return as well.

Joyful
Return to Sugarcreek, book three
by Shelley Shepard Gray
Publisher: Avon Inspire
Pub. Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0062204509
Pages: 256
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/BeIYd
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/sgray

Review:

There are some authors that never seem to fail with each and every new novel they released. Shelley Shepard Gray is one of these authors. I've been a fan of her work since I read the first book in the Sisters of the Heart series, Hidden, and her writing style keeps getting better with each new novel. Her newest book, Joyful, is the third installment in the Return to Sugarcreek series, which I eagerly signed up to review it through Liffuse Publicity Group.

Joyful centers on Elizabeth Nolt, a young Amish woman who had been dating Randall Beiler for the past two years that is until out of the blue, Randall breaks up with her. Heartbroken, Elizabeth has nobody to turn, except for grandmother.

Unknowingly to Elizabeth is the heartache the Randall is also feeling. He didn't want to break ties with her, but he had no other choice. Situations occured that forced him to push her away so he could take care of his younger siblings and run the family farm.

Petals on the Wind
Director: Karen Moncrieff
Starring: Heather Graham, Rose McIver, Wyatt Nash, Baley Buntain, Nick Searcy Dlyan Bruce, Will Kemp, Whitney Hoy, Ellia English and Ellen Burstyn
Studio: LionsGate Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00KFNF17E
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating: NOT Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD on September 16th is the Petals on the Wind based on the classic novel by V.C. Andrews. The film is directed by Karen Moncrieff and stars Heather Graham, Rose McIver, Wyatt Nash, Baley Buntain, Nick Searcy Dlyan Bruce, Will Kemp , Whitney Hoy, Ellia English and Ellen Burstyn. The DVD comes with a Digital Ultraviolet code. There are no extras or special features.

After the success of the made-for-television adaption of Flowers in the Attic back in January, it was no-brainier why Lifetime quickly gave the greenlight for the sequel Petals on the Wind, which made its debut on Lifetime back in May.

Unlike the book of the same name that picks up directly where Flowers in the Attic ended, the film adaption jumps ten years with new actors (Rose Mclver, Wyatt Nash and Bailey Buntain) taking over the roles of Cathy, Christopher and Carrie Dollanganger. Shoving a 450 page book into a 90-minute movie means there are many characters and scenes that had to be cut. Dr. Paul Sheffield, who adopts the children and later has a romantic relationship with Cathy, never appears, as the film opens up with his funeral. Cathy's ballet roommates, Yolanda Lange and April Summers, never appears, as well as Dr. Paul's sister,
Amanda Sheffield (Biddens).

Despite some changes, the main plot is still intact in the film with Cathy wanting revenge for what her mother did to her and her siblings. A few scenes with Carrie shows how she was tormented by her classmates and how her mother ignored her, which all leads to her death (it differs from the book). Then there is a side-story with Christopher dating Whitney Hoy, which isn't in the book.

125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipies: Quick, Easy, Fun Ideas
by Julie Hasson
Publisher: Robert Rose
Pub. Date: September 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-0778800729
Pages: 192
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:


As many of my readers already know, I do know my way around a kitchen; learning at an early age to cook my own meals and bake my own desserts, so naturally I was interested in reviewing 125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipes, which I received an advanced copy several weeks ago. The cookbook, or should I say baking book, features delicious recipes for bars, squares, cakes, pies, muffins, quick breads, puddings, hot and cold beverages and sauces, all of which uses chocolate chips!

The publisher, Robert Rose, has given me permission to share two tasty recipes.

Love's Fortune
The Ballantyne Legacy, book 3
by Laura Frantz
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0800720438
Pages: 400
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving in bookstores today is the third installment in The Ballantyne Legacy, titled Love's Fortune by Laura Frantz. I have never read the other books in the series, but the cover alone for the third book caught my attention. Plus, to me the book feels like a standalone novel.


Love's Fortune centers on Rowena "Wren" Ballantyne, a young woman living in Kentucky who's life is forever changed when she leaves her home and travels with her father to New Hope, Pennsylvania. She quickly learns of her father's heritage and meets her new family members, who introduce her to the high society life.

Jumping from one lifestyle to another is not an easy task and she struggles to fit in, that is until she meets James Sackett, a steamship pilot of the Ballantynes' shipping line. Though her newfound friend tries to help her fit in with her new surrounds, she still doesn't feel comfortable becoming the kind of 'lady' that her Aunt Andra wants her to become.